Is this the start to the electronic rabbit hole?

[CaribooBass]

I need to ask a few questions about my 2021 Players series fretless Jazz bass.
When I purchased her I had never played a Jazz bass before let alone a fretless.

I loved it and still do right from the start.
Now that I have a few years with the Jazz bass I notice that it can sometimes sound very thin.

I have been told that it would often sound thin because the Electronics in Mexican Basses are not of a good quality.

Just replace the control panel and pick ups with American ones.

Before I start chasing my tail on this; is this true ?
I have no experience in this area at all and my Dog has more experience with a soldering iron than I do.

Can I start with the same pickups and add a better quality control unit ?

Any info/ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
c
Clayton

 

[logdrum]

You can always just get an EMG, prewired J - plate set. Yes they are active, but the battery will last for a very long time. Invalid Link Removed

This one has the classic original J and it is very reliable for gigs - meaning enough oomph to cut through and will really work well with your Fender. If want to add a bass and treble boost you can also get the EMG BTS and would just replace the tone control and you'll get an additional bass and treble control that can boost. If you contact them they may also set you up with other pickups other than the standard J on the J plate but it's not on their online catalog. They have Alnico, Ceramic steel as well as vintage sounding one. And they have an X series for extended highs and lows - So there is, J and JX, JA and JAX, JCS and JCSX , JV and JVX.

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I have just put in a JAX (Alnico X) for my 5 string Squier -- It is a bit tight but if I got the plate it would have fit well because they have even a lower profile knob. It sounds fantastic even with just a tone knob (it works like a passive tone knob but has more in between states compared to a passive tone knob. Alnico is a bit warmer but the X pre-amp gave me a bit more bass and treble as well. Even though I can solder, I would say that the solderless system is fantastic.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

The answer to your question is yes. Bunny hole for you.

On the serious side, I heard the same thing about my MiM telecaster custom and it has worked well for me stock for a long time.

 

[Bass V]

wire the PU straight to the jack before more drastic mods, see if that helps

 

[Lo-E]

The enemy of good is better.

What I mean by this is we often get excited by the next shiny thing when what we have is perfectly fine.

MIM Jazz Basses are professional instruments. I wouldn’t even know where to start if I wanted to guess how many stock MIM J-basses are out in the wild, earning people a living. There’s a range of price points coming out of that factory (just as in the US) and not all the appointments are equal but, for the most part, the pickups in your average MIM J are good.

Now, regarding the next shiny thing; are there better pickups? Sure. Will they make a noticeable change? Hard to say. Will they actually be better? For you and your needs? Also hard to say.

It gets pretty easy to chase your tail in situations like this. I’ve certainly done plenty of tail-chasing. Er…. maybe I should rephrase that. …or maybe not!

In the end, it’s pretty hard to predict what you’ll gain by swapping electrons until you’ve had some experience doing it and, even then, surprises still surface.

 

[IPA]

What amp are you using?

 

[JTE]

Start with a careful and thorough analysis of what you want to change in the sound. Then research ways to resolve that specific issue. Uounsay it sounds "thin" which is pretty vague. What area is lacking or what area is too prominent. Can you fix rather with amp EW, pickup and/or tone control manipulation different strings? Arebthe pickups adjusted correctly?

Pickups can change a lot but frequently also don't make a substantive difference. New pots are at best a marginal change and I believe generally need replacing if they are noisy or mechanically causing problems.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

I also fairly recently started playing and recording with a fretless jazz. Tonally it is worlds different than my G&L L-1000 or my Jack Cassady - it does a different thing. I have no need to make it be anything other that what it is, i.e. not needing to match other instruments for live use etc. I like that it's a bit thin compared to my other basses.

 

[Lobster11]

...I notice that it can sometimes sound very thin.

(Emphasis added.)

Seems to me that if it only "sometimes" sounds thin, the problem probably isn't the bass.

 

[CaribooBass]

The enemy of good is better.
Wise words.

Yes shiny and new is not always better, get that.
That is why I asked the rabbit hole question.
Yes compared to my other basses the Jazz does sound different, that is why I like it.
As Lobster said it might not be the bass as I go over in my head when I noticed the thinner sound.
I am in rehearsal tomorrow night and I will set up the same scenario and see/hear what else may be the issue.

 

[MonetBass]

Regarding the electronics in the MIM Player Series basses, I have to disagree. My 2021 Jazz sounds wonderful with those alnico V pickups.

 

[Jefenator]

My understanding is that cheaper pots should not affect sound quality, but my experience has been that they can affect reliability. If you are willing to learn how to solder, a new harness with good components costs very little. (The solder-less options can be pretty tempting, though.)
I find pickups do make a difference. I've spent some time & money trying different ones, but not that much in the grand scheme and I feel it was worth it to wind up with an instrument I am completely satisfied with.
When shopping for pickups, measure the ones you have & make sure any new set is compatible. IIRC MIM has the same dimensions for neck & bridge while most standard J sets do not.

 

[chris_b]

I'd start by keeping the bass passive and replace the pickups with Bartolini's. You'll get a huge sound from them, even in passive mode.

I did this with my old Precision. Replacing the pickups gave me a 500% improvement in tone. I then went for the pre amp and was disappointed. I'd say I only got a 5% improvement with the Bart pre amp.

Do your upgrades in phases and evaluate the tone at each step.


ps
On the other hand if you buy a better bass you'll have benefits across the board.

 

[CaribooBass]

The knobs on my Jazz bass have always turned easily and have never made any noise.
I was in a music store last week and there was an American jazz bass there and even though the knobs turned easily there was more resistance in them than my Mexican bass.

That is what started the thought of electronic upgrades.
Maybe it just showed my in-experience.

I have to admit I do like the idea of the 2 concentric knob set up that came on the original Jazz basses.

 

[Rabidhamster]

Some MIm basses have full size quality pots and some don’t. Haven’t had that model open yet but it might be fine.
Seymour Duncan’s will fix the thin and can still sound like a vintage jazz if you want that.

 

[michael_t]

Now that I have a few years with the Jazz bass I notice that it can sometimes sound very thin.

What brand and type of strings have you been using?

 

[Maxi Funkl]

I have or had MIA, MIM. MIJ, CIJ, Korean, and Indonesian Fenders, Charvel and Squires basses and guitars.
All have had outstanding build quality and sure a few have had issues. I modded to fix issues or to met my tastes. But I'm not one of those if its not USA made Fender I won't buy it. Currently of the 2 Fenders, 1 Charvel & 1 Squire basses & guitars I own not a single one is a MIA and not a single one is going anywhere! All are great guitars or basses. Did I mod them yes I did but they had great bones to start with which made it easy build on to improve.

The best made Fenders I've ever owned were both made in Japan.
CIJ Pink paisley Strat perfect guitar except I never could bound with it's chunkier 60's style neck sold to GC far to cheap. MIJ Geddy Lee bass changed the pickguard and pickguard screws to black cosmetic changes only.

Only thing I would suggest to anyone before modding their instrument have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish. Is it cosmetic, electronic (pickups, preamps, switches, pots), or functional (bridge, tuners). If you know what you like it makes it much easier than trying something because of what someone else said. That can and will easily lead to the magic rabbit hole.

 

[JimmyM]

I don’t know what is in the Player series basses but anything is possible with Fender pickups nowadays. Heard MIMs that sound fine stock, heard American basses that sound like crap. Not a fan of VMods for example.

But unless you have a Jazz with primo pickups to compare, definitely do a rehearsal with it before you do anything.

 

[Queue]

Are you using a compressor? That could even out the thin spots.

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

Cheaper pots definitely turn more cheaply than the higher quality ones. One thing to point out, high quality stuff is not expensive, and Jazz basses don’t have a lot going on.
If you wanted to save some headache putting one together piece by piece, they do sell concentric Jazz wiring harnesses pre assembled. They are quite a bit more than you would buy it separate. But all you would have to do is hook up the pickups to it and be done with it!
As you can see from the link, there isn’t much going on at all.
JB-CON-CH-BK Dual Pickup Bass Concentric Control Plate Upgrade | Sweetwater